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Choosing a "clear bra" is not as easy as expected

Do any of you have any recommendations on which type of clear bra is best for a Z4?

1. Which material is best with the least discolorations, "stretch marks" and safest adhesive? Is it true that 3M films leave the most "stretch marks"? While 3M uses a top coat, do Venture and Avery films without top coats look weathered after a year? Is there really a difference? I know installers like to install Avery and Venture because they're so easy to wrap around bends (since they do not have the more rigid top coat).

2. Who makes the best Z4 kits with the fewest "relief cuts"? X-pel and StoneGard has fewer relief cuts for the front bumper than the Star Shield, but does it matter? What about the rear bumper? X-pel's rear bumper strip is larger than Star Shield, but Star Shield makes the nicest side rocker panel body kit.

3. I spoke to an installer listed on the X-pel website, but he informs me that he uses X-pels patterns to cut his own film using a plotter. He claims it's just as good. Does this matter? Have any of you used these independent operations who cut their own patterns?

4. Did your installer use a *RAZOR* to trim your clear bra while it's on your car? I didn't realize this, but many installers do this, especially if they use oversized kits (e.g. Star Shield).

5. For headlight protection, most installers I spoke with will *not* use 3M b/c of the adhesive problem but use some other thicker urethane. I have one installer who wants to use the regular 3M film on the headlamps, though. And I posted earlier, Star Shield has stopped doing *all* headlamsp b/c they claim it raises the temperatures causing fracturing of the headlamps.

If you can offer any opinions on this topic, I'd really appreciate it.